


Being Human (First Draft)

by orphan_account



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Mild Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-23
Updated: 2014-01-23
Packaged: 2018-01-09 18:44:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1149488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Post-Thessia. Alice has always been able to brush it off and continue to give, but she's only mortal. Garrus has seen so much, but he was never going to be ready for the news he recieves. He is only mortal. The barricades are going to be torn down eventually, and they will know what it is to be mortal. (UPDATED: Fixed a few spelling errors. Derp.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Being Human (First Draft)

**Author's Note:**

> Follow this link when prompted: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wc_G_A1KB0
> 
> Arkana recently remixed the beautiful Skrux track "Being Human", and I had to write something based on it. I had to!  
> Here's the remix: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNbOc9AkT2M
> 
> PS: Sorry for referencing a slinky skinsuit. I can't help it, I just find them so attractive, and I like to believe that one powers the Infiltrator's tactical cloak.  
> PPS: This is a first draft, so if anyone detects anything off, let me know.

"Please let me in  
*I've lost my soul*  
Please let me in..."  
  
    "The needs of the group are greater than the needs of the individual."  
    This is the moral that the turians have lived by since their earliest civilizations, and it makes sense on paper. Sacrifice yourself to help others.  
    Alice was such a damn turian, it was eerie. She always gave herself to others, not giving a damn for herself, and it was obvious that it was tearing her apart. It seems like even their relationship was her giving herself to him for comfort. Commander Alice Shepard needed no protecting. No comforting. She would always brush it off with that childish giggle of hers, and head on to the next mission. But it wasn't working now.  
   
    The Infiltrator tiptoed to the door with her trademark silenced footsteps, rapping her fist lightly against the green light. The circle broke apart and rotated, before giving a few electronic chirps to signify that the door was about to open. With a slight whir, he battery was revealed to the commander.  
    "Shepard," Garrus barely mumbles her name, and it was mainly sub-vocal. Alice activated her cloak, like she always did, and ran over behind one of the guns. Garrus feigned confusion."I wonder where she went?" He fluttered a mandible happily. She knew how to make the best of a bad situation, alright. She always played this game. She was childish, for sure, but it was an endearing trait. She was down-to-earth, fun when nobody else could be, and she knew how to think and work through a tough time. God he loved her.  
    Which gun was she hiding behind now? He turned the corner and walked down the right catwalk. He waved his arms around, and when he decided she wasn't there, he checked the other side.  
    His arm eventually found her shoulder, and he beamed through his teeth. "Ha! Got you."  
    Normally, this is when Alice woud pop up, uncloak, and hug him, but she remained where she was. Garrus was concerned.  
    "Shepard?"

    (Follow link now!)

  
     A small whimper came from the piece of space she occupied, completely invisible. He kneeled in front of his girlfriend.  
    "Alice?" The turian grin slid from his face. "Are you alright?"  
    She whimpered again, then sighed, and Garrus felt her shoulder drop. "I... talked to Liara." Garrus looked down at his foot. That figured. Liara had to be taking Thessia hard.  
    "Remember, Alice..." The turian's subvocals found its protective tone.  
    "It's not my fault? I never said it was." Her voice was filled was less tragedy, and more righteous anger. "Kai Leng just signed his official death warrant."  
    Garrus found her other shoulder and placed one hand on each. "Alice..."  
    "That little fucker is responsible for the deaths of millions!! Apparently, Liara's foster family was at Thessia. He just made it personal."  
    "He almost killed you! All three of us!"  
    "That's because I wasn't ready. I'll get him next time."  
    "No you won't!"  
    "And who are YOU to tell me no?"  
    "Your boyfriend!"  
      
    Garrus gripped her shoulders tightly, and the room went silent as death, even the chatter of the crew outside the door suppressed by the turian's outburst.  
    Alice dropped her cloak, and her black tacsuit was in full view, barefoot and ungloved, her black hair messier than usual.  
    Garrus' visor read an increased heart rate, increased tension in her entire body and adrenaline fighting melatonin to keep her tired body from passing out, but he needed none of this information to tell him that she was tired, and he startled her. He took off his visor, placing it beside him, and captured Alice's expression, her brows furrowed, her eyes raised and stretched wide, black bags running underneath, her mouth slightly opened. He couldn't take the sight for long, and dropped his eyes to the floor.  
    "Alice, I'm sorry. I just... I can't..."  
    Her face shifted from shock to concern, and unwrapped her arms from her legs, kneeling in front of the turian.  
    "You can't..."  
    "Don't make me say it."  
    "Garrus."  
    "I can't lose you! Leng is dangerous, Shepard."  
    Alice grabbed the turian and pulled him forward to her, sitting on her heels. Garrus' breathing deepened, and, despite all the rumour saying that turians didn't cry, this one began sobbing, although not a single tear ran from his face.

  
    "I've lost everyone, Shepard. My entire family... their shuttle was lost. Nobody knows where the crash is." His subvocal wavered. It hurt him to tell her this. "That's my mom, my dad, Sola, all my men... I can't take it any more. You're all that I've got left."  
    Alice pressed his forehead against hers with a slight grin, and Garrus' sobbing turned to a whimper and faded. His arms slid around hers, across the black rubber of her tacsuit, to grab her back, and rested his head in the crook of her neck, and Alice stroked his fringe, the other hand resting behind is head on his neck. She placed a series of kisses on the back of his head, and he began to sob again.  
    When he stopped, he gritted his teeth. "I'm never going to let him take you. I need you too much," he practically spat.  
    "He won't. I'm stronger than he is."  
    Garrus sighed, then chuckled, never moving his head. "I believe in you. It's just... you came so close, Alice."  
    "I know. But I'm a stubborn old dog. That's why I survived. Not out of any difference in strength. I just don't quit."  
    "So what drove you, Alice? To climb a piece of breaking rebar to survival?"  
    Alice's gaze turned to the wall beyond the piece of physically and emotionally scarred turian in her lap, staring right through it, as she thought about the answer.  
    Truth was, a lot drove her.  
    The primal desire to survive, to overcome.  
    The fear of failure, if she died, the galaxy was lost.  
    And... she guessed, her dedication to Garrus. He would be shattered if she died. The first time, he went on a bloodthirsty rampage against the mercernaries of Omega. If he lost her again, this time without any chance of getting her back... she didn't know. She couldn't predict what a mourning turian widower with a sniper rifle would do. A mourning turian friend was bad enough.  
    If he lost her again, he would never find another love. Turians mate for life. If she lost him, as much as it pained her to say it, her psychology would let her move on, find someone else. Garrus would carry her with him *everywhere*, the bond mark she left on the sensitive skin of his neck a constant reminder of their wonderful time together and how it was gone.  
    She wouldn't do that to him by giving up. The needs of the group.  
  
    "I figured, if I died, there'd be nobody to keep an eye on you." She spoke with a grin and a raised eyebrow.  
    "I don't know what I would've done. I would've lost myself, like with... all of them." Garrus lightened up a little at her smile, which he detected through his neck, but still spoke grimly.  
    "I don't know either. But I'm here. We'll be here for each other, and we'll get through this. There's an old human saying."  
    "Hm?"  
    "It's always darkest before the dawn."  
    "That's pretty elegant."  
    "It's pretty cliche nowadays, but still relevant."  
    Garrus chuckled. "Thanks for coming down."  
    "Thanks for being here."  
    "Sorry for shouting."  
    "It's okay. You had a lot on your mind. I'm... sorry about your family."  
    "Thank you. They haven't found the crash yet, so there's a possibility that Dad and Solana survived."  
    Alice smiled again, rubbing her neck against his, wary of the backs of his mandibles. In response, Garrus leaned into her. "It's always darkest before the dawn, right?" Garrus shifted from his kneeling position, wrapping his legs around Alice, putting her in his lap, and Alice replicated the motion, causing them to both be seated on the other's feet.  
    "You're all the dawn I need."  
    "That's sweet." He leaned in, pressing their foreheads together, holding her waist, and Alice closed the gap, taking Garrus into a deep kiss. He breathed into her, "You need a nap."  
    "So do you."  
    "In a bit." He kissed her more, then spoke.  
      
    "I love you."  
    "I love you too."  
  
    On the other side of the wall, Liara was still at work, now undeterred by the tragedy on Thessia. She overheard the exchage between the couple, and she knew. Shepard's righteous anger was partially for her. She remembered everyone on the Normandy, how much they cared for her, everything they did for her, and she knew that all wasn't lost. She tilted her head up, smiled slowly, and dipped it back down, returning to her screens.  
  
 _"Please let me in,_  
 _*I've lost my soul*_  
 _Please let me in_  
 _(Wanna be where you are)_  
  
 _Am I the one who's hiding_  
 _In the darkness of the night_  
 _Am I laying on the cold hard ground_  
  
 _Is it me running through the trees_  
 _Is it me peering in from the outside_  
  
 _Please let me in_  
 _I've lost my soul_  
 _Please let me in_  
 _I wanna be where you are_  
  
 _Please let me in_  
 _I don't know what it's like_  
 _Being human anymore"_

  
    -Skrux feat. Mona Moua - Being Human  
  
~\\-WAKE O'DONNELL - BEING HUMAN-/~


End file.
